Gorgeous name, I prefer the K as any little Katherine of mine would also be Kate (not a fan of Cate) and I would like the same initial. I think both spellings are fairly traditional. (Thinking of Katherine/Katharine of Aragon and Cathy in Wuthering Heights).

Catherine and Katherine are about as old as each other as far as I can work out.

QUOTE

The name has subsequently come to be associated with the Greek adjective καθαρός katharos, meaning 'pure', leading to the alternative spellings Katharine and Katherine. The former spelling, with a middle a, was more common in the past and is currently more popular in the United States than in Britain. Katherine, with a middle e, was first recorded in England in 1196 after being brought back from the Crusades.[2]

I like Catherine because it has a vintage British feel and is one of the less popular forms in the US where Katherine is far and away the big favourite at the moment and C's were only in the 19th C.

I like Katharine because I like Katharine Hepburn and the two-a spelling also feels like a callback to old Eastern European forms like Katarina.

Kathryn has been used for centuries but I'm not very fond of it. I hardly ever see Cathryn and I'm not fond of it at all. And also in my accent I say these two differently from Catherine/Katharine which have 2.5-3 syllables and not 2. I say the -ryns with two though.

Katherine is in the middle for me - I don't find it as vintage charming as Catherine or as regal as Katharine, but it does have the benefit of being the familiar/popular option. I don't think Catherine is obscure enough to write off, though, and most people are cool with asking "C or K?"

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